


Scars

by Lucky_Cassandra



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mother-Son Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 01:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14125116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucky_Cassandra/pseuds/Lucky_Cassandra
Summary: Paul had never realized just how much Percy had been trying to hide from them.





	Scars

**Author's Note:**

> Set after BoO. Inspired from a headcanon I saw on Instagram about Percy hiding his scars when he changes for gym at school.

Paul had never noticed how Percy was always covered up around the house. Paul had never seen his stepson with anything less than a T-shirt and knee-length shorts on, but had never even realized before.  Never until that evening had he understood that Percy carefully kept him and Sally from seeing any more of his skin than they had to.

The evening had started out normal, relaxed, pleasent, homely.  Annabeth was having dinner with them, as often happened. She was as much a part of the family as any of them, and Percy's smile was brighter when she was with them, so Paul and Sally were careful to have her over as much as possible. Percy's smiles had been less frequent than they should have been, lately.

That evening, the table was laden with food, some of it blue. Percy and Annabeth were still looking too thin and pale for Sally's tastes, Paul knew, and she liked to feel she was doing what she could about it by making sure they had abundance and variety to choose from.

Percy and Annabeth were laughing at the stories Paul was telling about the witty comebacks his students came up with in class. "I never know if I should give them detention of shake their hands for their wit!" he was saying. He turned to his stepson. "But don't you get any more ideas, Mrs. Lile tells me your comebacks are just as bad as some of the stories I've been telling."

Percy had the good taste to blush and look slightly embarassed beneath his laughter. He reached over to help himself to more potatoes, but his arm knocked over the bottle of salad dressing which was unfortunately open. He looked surprised as the oily liquid ran down the front of his shirt. He grinned lopsidedly.

"Oops. Sorry, I'll be right back. This stuff smells." He set the bottle upright back on the table and pushed his chair out. As he got up and started turning towards his room, he removed his shirt in one smooth motion.

Paul nearly choked on his food. Beside him, he heard Sally's sharp intake of breath.

Annabeth noticed their reaction right away, and turned to look at Percy. Understanding flickered in her eyes, but no surprise. Paul's eyes went right back to Percy.

Percy's back was not smooth like the back of a teenager should be. He had a round, jagged mark, as big as a coin, on one shoulder. Long thin scars cris-crossed across his back. Another long scar, darker than the other ones, peaked from the side of his ribcage and went up his back. On his side there seemed to be another round puckered mark, larger than the one on his shoulder. And those were the ones Paul could take in with a quick glance.

"Percy..." Paul stammered weakly.

Percy turned, confused. That was a mistake. His front was as bad as his back. Another round mark, matching the one on the other side, stood out on the side of his ribcage. The mark on the shoulder also seemed to have its match on the front. More dark scars ran along his ribcage.

Suddenly, Percy understood. He paled. "I'm... I didn't meant to... I'm really sorry." He ran to his room and closed the door behind him.

Paul stared at the closed door for a few more seconds, not seeing it. All he could see was the physical proof of everything his stepson had been through. He wrentched his eyes away from the door and focused on Annabeth, who was looking at them with concern in her eyes.

"I never... But... What..." Paul stammered, helplessly. Beside him, Sally was silent, clutching her hands in her lap. "Is that... are you as scarred?" he asked, in a whisper.

"Not like that," Annabeth answered quickly. "I have a couple of marks," she downplayed. "Percy... was in a few bad scrapes. He... doesn't like to bring attention to it. He knows you have been worrying more than enough."

Paul couldn't breathe properly. His throat felt like it was closing up. Of course, he had known about fights, monsters, quests... but seeing the scars hit him differetly. Seeing physical reminders of the wounds, the pain... He felt Sally's trembling hand close on his. He turned to look at her. She was pale, but seemed more composed than he was. She must have known that Percy was hiding his body from them, while he had been blissfully clueless.

"I think I'll go check on him," Annabeth said, standing up. "Excuse me."  


* * *

  
Percy leaned against the closed door, breathing heavily, his heart pounding. _How_ could he have been so careless and distracted? He was always so careful to hide the worst of his scars from his parents. He always changed behind closed doors, taking clothes with him into the bathroom when he showered. He had quit the school swimming team when the scarring had become too much and he couldn't use excuses of old small childhood accidents any more. He was thankful water helped him heal better, or he would look even worse. He closed his eyes, but all he could see was Paul's and Sally's horrified looks. His hands clenched in fists around the shirt he was still holding. He dropped it to the floor, walked over to the bed and sat down on it, his head in his hands. He heard the door open slowly, and he looked up to see Annabeth walk in.

"Hey," she said softly. She sat down on the bed next to him. Her warm hand slipped around his shoulders.

He couldn't talk for a few moments. "I messed up," he finally said, looking up at her. "I can't believe I messed up so bad. They didn't deserve to see that."

"Percy..." she obviously didn't know what to say. She just held him. He was grateful for it. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally, she stood up and moved to his chest of drawers, opening one drawer and pulling out a clean shirt. She handed it to him.

"Let's go back at the table," she said gently. "You wanted more potatoes."

Percy didn't know what to say or what to do. He took the shirt from Annabeth and put it on. He didn't get up yet. He didn't want to go back and face Paul and his mother, he didn't want to see their shock and horror. And he had lost his appetite. His parents probably had, too. And it was his fault.

"Percy, don't be so hard on yourself, please. Nothing can change what has been," Annabeth said. "They love you, _I_ love you. We just  have to accept what has been and move on. They understand that."

She pulled him up off the bed. She kissed him tenderly, then pulled him towards the door.  


* * *

  
The door to Percy's room opened and Annabeth walked out dragging Percy by the hand. He looked pale and miserable. He stopped in front of his chair.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

Paul's mouth fell open. He couldn't believe what he heard. Percy was  _apologizing_? Whatever for? For having been wounded over and  over again? For having had to fight for his life and for the lives of his friends? For surviving? For not hiding from them enough? Hearing his stepson apologize was almost worse than seeing his scarred torso.

Paul and Sally stood simultaneously and both walked around the table towards Percy. Sally hugged her son fierecly, Paul put his hand on Percy's shoulder. 

"No, _I_ am sorry. For being clueless most of the time. For not understanding everything you have been through," Paul said. "I don't want you to feel you have to hide from us. I know you can't sleep sometimes, I know you have nightmares. Those are scars as well, and worse ones." 

Percy flinched. Paul knew he was trying to hide his emotional scars from them as well, but those could not be covered up with clothes. 

"We want to help, honey," Sally said, still hugging her son. "We want you to be happy. If we thought ignoring your pain would make it go away we would do it, but that's not how it works. Don't hide. Let us help." 

Finally, Percy hugged her back. His eyes met Paul's. "Thank you," he said softly. 

Paul tried to keep his expression soft as another wave of emotion washed through him. Percy was thanking them for loving him? For being his parents? For feeling a little part of his pain as he struggled with it? He held his stepson's eyes a moment longer, but he couldn't think of anything to say, anything to do to make this better. He turned back towards the table. 

"I think it's time for some blue ice cream," he said. 


End file.
